Blender to MSFS Tutorial - Follow Path animation - with real world Google Earth (or OSM) data

In this tutorial I will show a simple follow path animation, made in Blender and exported to Microsoft Flight Simulator. With the help of blender-osm and Google Earth you can also import a .gpx (gps file) into blender to obtain a "real world" path
the blender-osm add on
prochitecture....
the model used in this example:
www.cgtrader.c...

[@StarflightVirtual]

Hello, thats again a really nice Video... 👍 I am starting with Blender..ok, the he seperated the first Tire of the Trucktor and i .... WHAT .. How did he that ??? Spooling back the Video and have a look again 🙂 ... amazing !! Keep your nice Work. Matthias

[@phcos1]

This is so cool. So many applications possible, on ground, on water, or in the air. This is another Federico's Amazing Tutorial. And it look so easy when you do it.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Thanks Phil, it is easy indeed, Was lucky to skip the modelling part, so nice that talented artist share their work for free 😃 I think that those little animations, altough not really necessary, adds so much to the sim Life!

[@phcos1]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS yes, life change everything . The nicest plastic flower will never be as nice as the one who open and close for the sun. This is why I wanted my first bridge in Beaufort to be animated. When it can move in real life, it need to move in MSFS, as long as it doesn't take to much data.

[@elgalopinos]

Another great tutorial, I really learn a lot from you, including Blender stuff....thank you very much for your great work and videos

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Thanks Rafael!

[@grassorob]

Grazie Federico ! come sempre ottimo tutorial!

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Grazie Roby!

[@neth77]

Thanks heaps for this, as usual you are a wealth of knowledge.

[@FlightDeckMagazin]

Thank you. Your Tutorials are very helpful.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Thanks so much Peter!! I think you don't really need them, you disclosed the jetway secrets, you are a Hero 🤩 I Will be doing a tutorial about them in the next weeks, and It wouldn't be possible without some of your findings 😅

[@Eichetheking]

Just today I started to do something like this on my own terms, struggling quite a bit. Marvellous timing with the release of your video. Thank you very much! All the best from Austria!

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Great, Hope that in the video you can find some ideas to solve your issue, glad to be of help if needed!

[@xMIGHTYx]

Hi, will you subsequently post tutorials?

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Yeah sure, just need the spare time to do them!

[@hansenc10]

Hi Federico Many thanks for your great videos !!! This one helped me to make a animated Bus, looks great !!! By the way, is it possible to make a "stop" in the secuence for a couple of sec ?

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Thank you so much Claus! Give this video a shot It has some nice techniques for path animation including slowing down kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqSyhHePidh6bdE

[@willhelmcz]

Hello Federico, thank you for helpful tutorial. I recreate it pretty well, only have problem with tractor with trailer or with trains - do not know how to manage that coupled objects follow the Path "naturally" (bend in join point according the Path curve). Would you consider follow up tutorial with regards to animate sets like trains or trucks with trailers?

[@TheGobby]

Another great tutorial, thank you. I'd love to see if you can figure out attaching an engine sound to the tractor. The Asobo tutorials on sound are focused only on aircrafts

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

I would love so! I have tried to follow the tutorials about sound but are a little bit hard to digest! But i love challenges, sooner or later i Will try again!

[@spatialpro]

This is really, really, really good!!! I've been wanting a tutorial like this for a while. Could you follow up with a "Part 2" please, including how to have A) the wheels spin at the correct rate for the speed over the ground (including different rates for the smaller front wheels and larger rear wheels); and B) the front wheels (and possibly a steering wheel in the cab) rotate with the changing direction of the vehicle please 👍👍

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Ha Ha Mr Ford, you already known that the part 2 Is coming 😄 I do have that on my backlog What are you asking Is already possible in Blender but requires a bit more work But There Is a different way of doing animations, and more related to Msfs, and i Will manage to get to that 😉

[@spatialpro]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS I'm also curious to know if another technique is required to account for Earth curvature? On a small airfield, with tall grass, it won't be so evident if the vehicle is just above or just below the surface. However, if it is a large international airport, with a concrete perimeter track and a patrolling security vehicle, it would be evident.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

@@spatialpro The other technique Is the same as Asobo Is using for their ground vehicles (And does not require a follow path baked animation) I Will be using their templates in the upcoming tutorial, no need to reinvent the wheel 😁. I have not experimented It on very large distances, but an Airport won't be a problem. By the way, the video of the cat walking in front of the hangar Is the proof of concept that the thing works

[@diver5412]

Hi !! very good tutorial !!! amazing !! So my wheels doesnt turn. She's turning only during their frame but it's not a cycle, i don't understand

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Hi, for the wheel you need two frame, the first one without rotation, the second one with a rotation of 359 degrees Once you have them, the distance between the frames is the speed of the wheels

[@OltcitRoom]

There are so many things you can do with animation. Very informative video, thanks for taking your time to do it. Do you know how to create custom jetways animation? That will be so grate if you could do a tutorial about that. Thanks again

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

@Oltcit Room Thank you!! Yeahh I know how to make the jetways and I have already made a working one, so a tutorial Will come pretty soon!

[@OltcitRoom]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS You are the best, thank you very much

[@MSFS.2020]

Hello Federico, Again 1000 thanks for your videos that make us progress ;) Could you please post a screenshot of the menu setup [MULTI EXPORT GlTF 2.0] you used and specify the Blender's version you use. Especially [SETTING] menu : which options did you check ? Wish U the best.

[@GergelyDebreceni]

really like the idea to "cut the grass", so clever! really nice! what do you think, is it possible to the object to follow the terrain?

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Following terrain with baked animation is not "built It", but the Path itself can be "3d", so you can emulate the terrain profile (the train in the shot, that Is visible in my LIDT scenery has a sort of 3d Path) There Is however another method that does not require baking the animation in Blender, i Will cover that in a future tutorial 😉

[@GergelyDebreceni]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS big thanks, looking forward to it!

[@LuisRodriguez-vm1wi]

Thank you very much for the great tutorials. I am having an issue where MSFS2020 crashes when I zoom into the edited airport (in the Map screen when selecting departure airport). Everything was ok, until I started making taxiways and parkings. Any advice on how to troubleshoot the issue? or have you encountered this in the past. I had this happen before, but I just started the airport from scratch, but I am too far to do that now. Thank you in advance.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

You are likely having a issue with the parkings (because those are drawn in the map they could be the culripts) Try to remove them and adding back

[@phcos1]

Hi Federico. With the Italia/Malta update, I was thinking of doing a little scenery, very Italian...a tribute to Ferrari. Forza Italia The "follow the path tutorial" is perfect for that, but I have a problem. The car is following the path, but not facing the displacement. It stayed facing the starting orientation, which make the curbs drifting, but then running side way, then backward, then side way, and finally back forward. I used the gis plugin to get the map, on which I drew the path. So, no *.gpx for me, but as the rectangle path you created in the first example works, it should work the same for me. My path is just a 400ich polygon instead of a rectangle. I can't figure the problem. Any clue?

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

As long as you click the follow curve checkbox the empty should follow that Path closely. Also to avoid drifting don't skip the bevel part, to avoid having Sharp corners Also, if you used the Blender-gis, don't forget to scale (and apply) before doing the animation

[@konradchrzaszcz2323]

Hello. I'm watching your videos and I can't cope. Federico, I made a tram for blender and path. In blender it runs on the line, but in MSFS 2020 it doesn't. What am I doing wrong? Can you help? Grazie.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Hi, in latest Asobo exporter, all checkboxex must be checked for the animation to play correctly, double check them (also remember the animation line in xml and the correct NLA track naming) for futher help feel free to join the discord discord.gg/KBxbRk87

[@richardeburah8992]

Hi Frederico. Where did you obtain those 2 lines that you added to the XML file. I see in the comments you say from the "Object.XML" but I do wonder where that file might be? - thanks in advance.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Hey Richard, I had already written those lines in another file, so I copied it. I didn't explained a lot about because I have already talked about animation in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4TWmKurpp2VeJo around minute 19, you can really take the code from every animated simobject in the Official folder :D

[@richardeburah8992]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS That reply was faster than the speed of light! Thank you.

[@richardeburah8992]

And it works! I have a cardboard, cubic, helicopter flying wherever I wish it to fly. Happy climbing Federico! And thanks again. - Back to Blender.

[@cloudsurfer9238]

I might have missed something.. Where did you get the code line with the play animation and the unique guid?

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Oh there was a video before this one talking about animations (the air conditioner)

[@cloudsurfer9238]

@@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS thx, will have a look

[@cloudsurfer9238]

And it must be a simobject correct? THough not the landmark type as in your previous vids? @@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

@@cloudsurfer9238 It is not required to be a SimObject if it is not doing Simobjects stuff :) in the specifc case it was compiled as a simple scenery object (but if you want it to display only in specifc conditions it will be a simobject ) btw if you want to jump in my discord here is the link discord.gg/Yx7Kmx7E

[@MSFS.2020]

Animation time ? Hello Federico. I think I do something wrong. could you give me details please ? The wheels animations are 70 frames. in your video when the cycle is over 70 frames the wheels stop turning. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZC3q2tvps6jodk (between 70 and 82 frames) When I follow curve and animate the path, the main object move but the animation wheel are only turning for the first 70. Surely I am doing something wrong ;) I know it's possible to cycle an animation but you don't talk about it in the video, so I think it's not necessary and your method works without it. Have a nice day. Jean-Marie.

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Feel free to join on discord, more direct help discord.gg/h5c6UvBrVR

[@MSFS-SDK-TUTORIALS]

Hi Jean Marie, The animations are further defined in the Object.xml, there I have one animation line for the path and another for the wheels, each animation as the property loop=true So when the e.g 70 frames are finished, the loop will bring back the anim in Sim to frame zero and start again 😃